Cengage Advantage Books: Business Law 9th Edition by Arnold Goldman ,William Sigismond

Exercise 2

Betty Ellis and her husband, W. G. Ellis, issued a promissory note to the Standard Finance Co. in the amount of $2,800. After receiving the note, Standard issued a check to the couple for $2,800. Both Betty and her husband indorsed the check and then cashed it. Shortly after this, the Ellises were divorced and W. G. Ellis went into bankruptcy. In the meantime, Standard Finance Co. sold the note to Wayne National Bank, which was aware of the circumstances surrounding the note. When the note became due, Wayne sued Betty Ellis as an HIDC for the amount of the note. Betty, however, refused to pay it, claiming that Wayne could not be an HIDC because she never saw or used the money- that it all went to her ex-husband. Consequently, she never gave value for the note. Is Betty correct? (Standard Finance Company Ltd. v. Ellis, 657 P.2d 1056)